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The importance of being earnest. And grumpy.

What’s the best part of simultaneously being a grumpy old guy and an instrument owner (a.k.a. ”musician”)?

Well, first of all, you’ve had years and years of honing your craft and your artistic voice, in other words, you should by now at least have some vague sort of idea what you’re doing. You should have your shit together. This is a good thing.

Second, you have hopefully gained enough experience to come to the conclusion that putting up with assholes, bullies and fake people is not worth your time of day just because you want a gig. You’ve grown enough backbone and cultivated enough character to make awesome music together with equally awesome people. If the very thought of spending 12 hours non-stop in a car going down the highway with this person makes you cringe, don’t play with them, because you will spend a lot more time in that car than on that stage. Get your priorities straight.

You have hopefully also learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and understood that it’s way better to be a good person than a huge success. Walking all over people in order to build a career is a despicable thing to do, so don’t. Build solid relationships, be trustworthy and reliable, deliver on your promises and don’t talk shit behind people’s backs. The respect of your peers is earned by doing these things. Seasoned players know this. In essence, don’t be an asshole.

What’s the worst part of simultaneously being a grumpy old guy and an instrument owner (a.k.a. ”musician”)?

2 thoughts on “The importance of being earnest. And grumpy.”

Excellent advice. People need to heard, read, and see advice like that all the time. One of our architects who was the “grumpy old guy” at the office, he’s a musician (violin), retired last October. I recently learned that I’ve been designated the new “grumpy old guy” at the office, I’m sort of a musician (flamenco guitar). Getting old does suck in some ways, but all that experience has its benefits in so many other ways.